A Passage to India by E. M. Forster | Comment on the ‘ending’

A Passage to India by E. M. Forster | Comment on the ‘ending’

Q. Comment on the ending of E. M. Forster’s novel "A Passage to India"

Answer: "A passage to India" is the most influential novel by E.M. Forster. It was published in 1924. The novel reveals the complexities between the British colonial authorities and the native Indian population of 20th century literature.

The novel is set in the backdrop of the Indian independence movement in the 1920s. The novel was set in an imaginary town of Chandrapore, India. The novel follows the story of a group of British expatriates.

The novel moves around the central character of an Indian doctor, Aziz. He is accused of assaulting a young British woman, Adela Quested. All the mishaps happened when a group of British expatriates covered a journey to the Marabar Caves.

The central theme of the novel moves around the arrest and trial of the Indian doctor, Aziz. The trial becomes the central point of the novel. It raises the tensions and mistrust between the British and the Indian communities. The whole situation during that trial reveals the systematic inequalities and the power of the colonial system.

E. M. Foster’s novel "A Passage to India" is a complex and indistinct conclusion. It provides a sense of unsolved tension within the readers. It also provides a cross-cultural understanding between the Indians and British colonialism.

However, after the trial of Dr. Aziz, there is a series of interactions between the colonizer and the colonized Indians. E. M. Fosters very artistically presents this dichotomy between these colonizers and the colonized Indians.

On the other hand, Aziz becomes increasingly nationalist and distrustful against the British. This is because of his trials. But his friend, Fielding, is a liberal Englishman. He struggles to maintain his ideals of cross-cultural harmony along with the British.

Again, the final encounter between Aziz and Fielding is really heartbreaking. It suggests a profound difficulty as it is an endeavor to bridge the divides between the Indians and the British. Overall, this division between the Indians and the British was only created by the colonial system.

However, Foster's ending of the novel does not provide a clear and definite resolution to the novel's central disputes. Instead, it provides the readers with a sense of uncertainty and ongoing struggle. Thus, the future of colonized Indians remains unresolved. The ending of the novel also provides a great significance of the Indian independence movement and the eventual collapse of the British Empire.

In fact, the doubtfulness in the novel is an important aspect of Forster's artistic vision. He invites the readers to ponder over the complexities and contradictions of the colonial experience in British India. The ending encourages the readers to ponder the deeper question of identity, power and the possibility of genuine cross-cultural understanding in the face of systematic oppression.

In the end, the ambiguous ending of "A Passage to India" is a notable testament of Forster’s skill as a novelist. He brings out the complexities of human experience between the native communities of India and the British.

*****

👉 Lord of the Flies | Allusions to ‘the Coral Island’

👉 Use of myths | in W.B. Yeats’ poems

👉 To the Lighthouse | Significance of the Title

👉 Modern Fiction | Virginia Woolf’s view upon the nature of modern fiction

👉 Murder in the Cathedral | Significance of the Temptation scene

👉 The waste Land | Myths and allusions, used in T.S. Eliot's poem

👉 Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot | The idea of ‘waiting’

👉 Murder in the Cathedral | as a Christian play